Characters

"Man, walk, dog, tree..."

In the back courtyard, Jiang Ding held a thread-bound book in his hands, murmuring from time to time.

Thousand Character Classic

Bored out of his mind, he had gone out for a stroll and gotten hold of a primer for young children, complete with simple illustrations, specifically to learn this world's writing.

His progress was quite fast. They were both square-shaped characters, and with the illustrations as references, plus the occasional trip to the front courtyard to ask Huang Deyou for guidance, learning was not difficult.

After thinking for a moment, he took out the Divine Firmament Hundred Pace Flying Sword Gong Caiyu had given him from his robe.

Over the past two days, he had easily gathered information about the founder of the Seven Profound Sect.

Legend had it that a thousand years ago, Seven Profound Master had been invincible throughout the martial world and established a vast foundation. Even changes of emperors in those days required the crown prince to ascend Seven Profound Mountain and receive permission before inheriting the imperial throne.

Seven Profound Master's most famous martial art was the Hundred Pace Flying Sword. Rumor said that within a hundred paces, it could take a man's head at will; not even Innate Martial Artists were exceptions. Its fierce prestige was boundless.

Unfortunately, after Seven Profound Master, the Seven Profound Sect rapidly declined, and no one had ever managed to master this sword art again.

"Practicing it is out of the question. Native martial arts carry all sorts of risks and cut off one's future path."

Jiang Ding touched the grip of the pistol hidden in his sleeve. "But if I can master the Immortal Sect's Hundred Pace Flying Sword, my ability to protect myself will rise sharply. I won't need to worry about exposing modern firearms and attracting unknown trouble."

This world was far from peaceful.

In the front courtyard, Huang Deyou was leading a group of temporarily hired workers in cleaning up, building new counters, and the like. Clanging and banging filled the air.

Then, it suddenly went quiet.

Huang Deyou hurried over, his forehead lightly beaded with sweat, and lowered his voice. "Boss, people from the Wild Wolf Gang have come. They say they're here to collect the monthly fee—the protection money."

"They're well informed." Jiang Ding smiled. "Just give it to them. It's nothing."

In a feudal society like this, the government's ability to govern was extremely limited. Thus, many power vacuums existed, occupied by gangs, clans, and the like. It was unavoidable.

More sweat appeared on Huang Deyou's forehead. "Boss, it's not just that. Besides one tael for the monthly fee, they want five taels as an opening fee—four times more than other shops in the same area. The key is that these wolf cubs can never be fed full. No amount is enough."

Jiang Ding said calmly, "They've taken us for a soft persimmon. Invite them in."

Not long after, three burly men who had deliberately exposed their muscular chests kicked the door open and entered.

The scar-faced man at the front said coldly, "Shopkeeper, what airs you put on. You actually made us brothers come see you. I, Liu Qi, can let it slide, but you're clearly not taking the Wild Wolf Gang seriously!"

The two men behind him chimed in, "You've got some damned nerve!"

Jiang Ding looked at these street toughs with mild curiosity.

A blue dragon was tattooed on the left arm, a white tiger on the right. Scars covered their chests, arms, and other places, while long objects wrapped in black cloth hung behind their waists—most likely blades.

They carried the air of desperate outlaws from head to toe. No wonder Huang Deyou had been unable to handle them.

Clang!

A streak of cold light slowly rose from the sword sheath.

Jiang Ding stood up. He had none of that arrogance about a sword refusing to slay nameless men. The strong could be killed; he did not disdain to kill ants either.

The scar-faced brute, Liu Qi, changed expression. His hand abruptly shot behind him and gripped his blade's hilt. His reaction was extremely quick—he had abundant real combat experience.

"Come. Slash me once."

Jiang Ding said.

Liu Qi's gaze tightened, as if some ferocious beast had fixed its eyes upon him.

The two men beside him stopped their stream of curses.

Huang Deyou stole a glance and discovered that the desperate outlaw aura around those men seemed to have vanished all at once. They looked utterly harmless.

"Young Hero, we failed to recognize Mount Tai..."

After waiting for a while, the three men still did not move. Liu Qi forced a smile onto his face.

In the martial world, eyesight was the most important thing.

"I told you to slash me once."

The smile vanished from Jiang Ding's face, leaving it expressionless.

"Otherwise, I'll kill you."

Liu Qi's expression changed. He had an extremely clear premonition of something.

"Young Hero, forgive my offense!"

He gritted his teeth and slashed forward. Steady, accurate, and fast, the blade-light swept up a fierce wind sharp enough to cut skin. Within the Wild Wolf Gang, he had earned the name Wind Splitting Blade.

Ding!

He saw a glint of silver arrive later yet strike first, precisely tapping the weak point three inches above his blade's hilt, without the slightest error.

Then a huge force erupted without warning, smashing him into the wall behind him. He coughed up blood in great mouthfuls.

The two burly men who had been about to step forward to assist planted their feet like roots and froze where they stood, not daring to look ahead.

They were incomparably vicious toward ordinary small merchants and peddlers, but their eyes were sharp. They knew that even if the two of them joined in, they would only be courting death.

"Convinced?"

Jiang Ding sheathed his sword and asked indifferently.

"Convinced, convinced! Thank you, Young Hero! Thank you, Young Hero!"

Ignoring the blood covering his chest, the scar-faced brute repeatedly kowtowed, his movements exceedingly smooth.

"I have matters to attend to, so I won't keep you three for tea."

Jiang Ding sat back down and turned his gaze to his book.

The three men scrambled away head over heels, wishing their parents had given them another pair of legs as they fled the back courtyard like flying.

"Manager Huang."

"Boss, I'm here!" Huang Deyou jolted.

Jiang Ding said calmly, "Take them one tael for the monthly fee and one tael for the opening fee. Tell them that if they dare not come collect next month's fee, I'll break their legs."

"Yes, Boss!"

Huang Deyou quickly followed after them.

Such small gangs might appear insignificant, but any that could stand firm had patrons shielding them. He did not want to make extra trouble.

Inside the high school cultivation room.

Sweat poured over his entire body like a spring, soaking his clothes. Jiang Ding drained a bowl of Essence Condensing Bone Strengthening Soup and glanced at the pale blue figure before him.

His straight yet slightly curved spinal bones resembled dragons and snakes. Most had already been tempered, with only thirteen vertebrae remaining at 23%, 5%, and other percentages.

"That is to say, only us Immortal Sect students have the Array Spirit Computer to assist us." Jiang Ding sighed. "For martial artists from other worlds, being able to temper their sternum and lumbar vertebrae would already be good enough, and at most they could temper them to forty or fifty percent."

"Beyond that, it's impossible. Even Inner Qi Realm and Innate Realm martial artists cannot observe them, much less temper them."

Flesh, bones, skin—not even a single thread or fraction was overlooked. Everything was tempered to the utmost limit.

The ultimate result was one of the Immortal Sect's important crystallizations of wisdom, a product that seemed miraculous to outsiders—a man-made Dao Body Prototype.

[Name: Jiang Ding]

[Student ID: 1246215]

[Realm: Bone Refining Realm Peak]

[Training Subject: Sixty-eighth Set of Eagle's Takeoff Sword Art (Proficient 99%)]

The proficiency on the panel flickered slightly, jumping to 100% before blurring and changing.

Minor Achievement 1%!

Jiang Ding's mind slightly blurred. Countless uninterrupted days and nights of sword practice, the scenes of practicing the sword since obtaining the Broken Sword Tip, and the image of one man and one sword charging into bandits as flesh and blood flew everywhere.

Countless accumulations burst forth, breaking through some kind of bottleneck.

Within the sword art that had previously been impossible to advance even an inch, something seemed to have appeared.

Clang!

Before he realized it, his sword had left its sheath, and a bright silver, perfectly regular arc blossomed.

The arc was still an arc, still flawless. Even if measured with vernier calipers, not the slightest error could be found—yet he could clearly sense an additional hint of liveliness.

"So that's it."

A realization arose in Jiang Ding's heart. "The limit of proficiency is merely performing a sword art rigidly and methodically, like a machine program. Minor Achievement, however, allows one to make preliminary fine adjustments to the sword art, turning another person's art into one's own sword art."

Sword-light flashed, now on the left, now on the right, seemingly filling the entire cultivation room.

After completing a set of Sword Moves, Jiang Ding's face was deathly pale and sweat covered his body.

"No. The training efficiency of the Minor Achievement Sixty-eighth Set of Eagle's Takeoff Sword Art is too high. It taxes the body too severely. Continuing by force will harm my body!"

"I must have vitality-restoring medicine!"

The Essence Condensing Bone Strengthening Soup distributed by the school was meant for all students. It was fundamentally insufficient.

Jiang Ding returned his sword to its sheath and rested for a long time before showering, changing clothes, and returning to class.

School was over.

Figures flew through the sky one after another. Among the treetops, someone used the Wind Riding Technique to cross more than ten meters in a single step. The two people on the ground kept their eyes straight ahead.

"Congratulations."

Jiang Ding examined Li Junhao carefully for a moment. "You've broken through to the Flesh Refining Realm."

The three body-refining realms had no particular aura, but they could be judged through traits such as stride length and skin luster. Especially since Li Junhao had just broken through and could not perfectly control his strength, his walk was somewhat awkward.

"Haha!"

Li Junhao was full of high spirits. "Old Jiang, I, Li Junhao, am actually a martial arts genius too. A great vessel takes long to complete, and today is the day!"

After laughing, he sighed. "I took your advice and figured you were right, so I added extra training these past few days. I never expected to break through just like that. I feel much more energetic than before."

"Academic subjects and cultivation subjects complement each other in the first place—one is theory, the other practice." Jiang Ding nodded. "Once we reach the Inner Qi Realm, our academic grades should rise a little too."

Though inner qi could not compare to spiritual power, it was still a form of energy.

With it as a foundation, understanding talismans, cultivation methods, mountains, rivers, spiritual veins, and the like would naturally become easier.

After waving goodbye to Li Junhao, Jiang Ding boarded a bus, but it was not headed home. He was going toward the city center library.